The gospel on celebrity and pop culture

At the purple-themed world premiere of the Justin Bieber movie "Never Say Never" in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, it was hard to tell where the screams on the screen ended and the screams from the audience began.

The stars turned out with their kids -- as did the stars who are kids -- to walk the crazy purple carpet crush that was streamed live online and into Nokia Theater at L.A. Live.

Selena Gomez showed, leggy in purple, but didn't hold hands in public with rumored beau Bieber. No need to start a riot, right? Miley Cyrus came with mom Tish and sister Noah, and Jaden Smith hung with his folks and sister Willow Smith, who rocked an elaborate, jewelry-encrusted hairdo in line with her fashion-forward rep. (Miley and Jaden are featured in the film.)

Famous parents giving their kids a thrill included Usher, P. Diddy, Jane Lynch, Melanie "Mel B" Brown, and of course Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith -- plus Pattie Mallette, whose kid Justin Bieber has given her quite a few thrills in recent years.

"I don't think you ever get used to something like this," Mallette said on the carpet. "It's mass hysteria at times. But it's amazing. It's a big adventure."

The screening was kicked off with a few words from impresario Scooter Braun and mentor Usher -- both welcomed by screams, Usher's only slightly louder -- before the purple-suited Biebs stepped up to tell fans in the audience that he loves them, he loves what he's doing, he loves purple, and he really hopes fans love the movie, because it wouldn't have happened without them.

That last, by the way, is an argument strongly supported by the film and by Scooter out on the purple carpet, where fans screamed his name as well as Justin's: "They know me, they know our security, they know our stylist, they know everything about everybody and we've been sharing it with them," he said. "They made this team, we owe them. It's not a ... creep-out thing, I know it doesn't happen when he's not around.

"It's not about me, it's about him and them."

Once the purple 3-D glasses were donned and the tween-friendly film started rolling, purple glow sticks waved concert-style by real-life audience members furthered the illusion of being at the pop phenom's Aug. 31 show at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Bieber Fever? It's more than a little bit contagious. Wonder if the Biebs knows that way back before a certain 16-year-old was born, one Donny Osmondhad a thing for purple too -- and played to a sold-out Madison Square Garden with the Osmond Brothers and sister Marie.

Glow sticks and YouTube, however, hadn't been invented at the time. And no, you can't have my glow stick.

Keep going for video interviews with Justin, Scooter, mom Pattie and director John M. Chu. Click the pics to see more photo action and lots more famous faces from the premiere, plus shots from earlier screenings in Toronto and New York.